Brevard Rolls Past Berea in Series Opener

Brevard Rolls Past Berea in Series Opener

BEREA, Ky. - The Brevard College baseball team (9-4) used three 3-run innings to defeat Berea College (2-7), 11-6, on Saturday evening in Berea, Kentucky. 

The meeting was the first between the two institutions since the Mountaineers were a member of the USA South Conference last season. 

Sophomore first baseman Cale Oehler powered BC's offense with a 3-for-5 outing at the plate with a pair of doubles, two runs scored, and an RBI. Blake Burchett, Lucas Granata, and Frankie Vasquez also had two-hit days, with Burchett, Peter Fumero, and Taylor Mattern (first-career Tornado triple) logging extra-base hits. As a team, Brevard was a force on the basepaths, stealing eight bases to extend its nation-leading mark. 

Trenten Anderson (2-2) won his second-consecutive start, going six innings with three runs allowed (two ER) and a career-high 10-strikeout performance. Noah Webb provided two and 2/3 innings of relief while Jacob Frizzell earned his first career save, entering into the game in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run on deck and two outs. 

The Tornados used a three-run first inning to get on the board early, applying further pressure in the top of the second with three more runs to make it a 6-0 affair. Berea used a solo home run in the bottom of the third and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth to cut the deficit to four runs, 6-2, before Brevard rallied its third 3-run frame of the ballgame in the top of the sixth to push its lead back up to a 9-2 margin. 

Berea stole home in the bottom of the sixth and logged an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh before Brevard answered back in the top of the right with two runs. The Mountaineers scored one in the eighth and threatened in the ninth, loading the bases down 11-6 before Frizzell came on to nail down the win for the Tornados. 

Brevard will have an opportunity to win the series on Sunday as the two sides compete in a pair of seven-inning contests beginning at 1 p.m. 

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-BC-